Something you hear over and over when people talk about Israel is the diversity of the country. This could be geographic, with snow in the north and desert in the south. There are the ethnic/racial groups, including Caucasian, Arab, Druze, Sudanese, Ethiopian – just to name a few! Then there’s religion, whether Jew or Muslim, Bahai or Christian – and the myriad sub-sects within those larger groupings.
Let’s take the Jewish group as an example. You’ve got the basic Sephardi/Ashkenaz question, but that’s broken down into far smaller details: North African – but Moroccan, Tunisian, Libyan? Chasidic – but Belz, Vishniz, Sanz? Secular – European or Oriental? Eastern European or Central European?
A friend of mine recently made aliyah, and as she was listing the various nationalities of her fellow olim, I was astounded. US, Canada, France, Britain, Brazil, Venezuela, Turkey – and those are only the countries I can recall. There were many others!
In keeping with the theme of diversity, the photos today are from my sojourn in the north of Israel, a stark contrast with Tel Aviv. Whereas the latter is thoroughly cosmopolitan, the north is rural, quiet, and dotted with kibbutzim, moshavs (cooperative farms), Jewish holy sites, and Arab towns.
The city of Safed/Tsfat is punctuated by the color blue, long associated with the ancient tradition of kabbalism found in this mystical city.
A symbol of fertility, the rimon (pomegranate) is synonymous with Biblical Israel. Clearly at the tail end of the season, this rimon (as well as those in the background) lives on the moshav of Tzipori close to Nazareth.
The road to Kabul leads from….Shefar’am? Are you as confused as we were? Turns out this isn’t refering to the Afghan capital, but to a small Arab town in the north of Israel.
Driving south on the coastal road from Tel Aviv to Haifa.
The Mediterranean glitters from the sun’s fading light.
